December 5th - 2nd Sunday of Advent (English)
Dec. 12th NO HOMILY Fr. Bill McCarthy said mass for our Advent Mission
December 19th - 4th Sunday of Advent (English)
December 24th & 25th - Christmas (English)
December 26th - Holy Family (English)
Several years ago when I was out west I had the opportunity
to walk along a section of the Oregon Trail. As you probably remember,
the Oregon Trail was one of the routes taken by settlers heading west from
Independence, Missouri to the Pacific. To this day there are a few
places where you can still see some of the ruts from the thousands of wagons
that made their way along this journey. At one point is a grave marker
that details the death of John Henderson. His pack animals had died,
so he had to walk the rest of the way. He tried to carry all of his
possessions. He died of thirst, yet was only about a mile from a
river. He didn’t realize that he was that close. Maybe if he
had let go of his possessions he might have had the strength to make it
to the river.
The desert is a harsh place. It is a place that is unforgiving.
If a person doesn’t have adequate water he will die. If he doesn’t
bring enough food along, he will die. Israel was founded as a people
in the desert. When God freed them from the hand of Pharaoh, the
people were sent into the desert for forty years. It was there that
they would be given the Law and make their first covenant to God.
It was also in the desert that they would discover how much they needed
God. They would soon run out of water. God would give them
nourishment from the rock. Later when their food supply was gone
God would feed them with manna and quail. They knew they were totally
helpless without God. They would die if they turned their back on
God. Many, in fact, did die on that journey. Yet, for those
who persevered, the desert would lead into the Promised Land. All
those who stayed faithful found the desert a place of intimacy with God.
Throughout Israel’s history they would have other desert experiences.
They were sent off into captivity in Assyria and Babylon. They witnessed
the temple being destroyed. And again, when they were without hope
God entered into the desert with them. He sent them an unlikely savior
in Cyrus, the king of Persia. Cyrus would allow the Israelites to
return home and rebuild their cities and temple.
Today we hear of another man of the desert, John the Baptist.
He was a man who voluntarily went out into the desert. He would live
by the providence of God and be transformed into God’s servant. Then,
God would send him back into Israel to bring back the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. He would be at the Jordan River baptizing all those
who desired to live more fully in the way of the Lord. John brought
condemnation on the rich and the self-assured. He proclaimed peace
to the poor and lowly. He brought hope to all that would come to
the river. For John proclaimed that God was about to visit His people
and that He would come to bring salvation to the nations.
Advent is to be a desert season for us. We are called
to let go of our possessions and seek out the strength that only God can
provide. We await the return of Christ in glory. Will we be
ready to welcome Him when He comes? I suspect that we find it hard
to go out into the desert. We don’t want to have to give up our security
and our possessions. In fact, this is a time marked with desiring
even more things. We find it hard to hear the Baptist’s cry to repent
and reform our lives.
Our conversions may take the form of significant changes.
God may be calling us to change many things. If we have been unfaithful
to him or to the commitments we make to our spouse and family, now is the
time to be transformed. Now is the time to recommit to fidelity.
Maybe God is calling you to reorder your priorities.
There is always a need for conversion of heart and spirit to doing the
will of God over our own wills. We don’t want to make room in our
hearts for people who are different from ourselves. Maybe God is
calling you today to love someone you find hard to love. It could
be that there have been those you could not forgive. Now is the time
to let go of anger and bitterness to accept the savior into your lives.
Prepare the way of the Lord by prayer and fasting. The
time until the Lord comes may be long or short. But the delay of
God is so that we might be transformed and renewed. Do not waste
the time, but be renewed to accept the Lord. Amen.
I believe that everybody wants to have a place they call home.
Most of us are fortunate to have a nice home. We have pictures on
the wall. We have our own bedroom where we have our clothes in closets
and in dressers. If we share a room with a spouse or with a brother
or sister we always look for a way to make part of that our own.
When a young person goes off to college and lives in a dorm
or in an apartment they bring enough of their things with them so that
it becomes their place. Even if it’s only for a short time, we want
to have a place of comfort. Sometimes when we travel on vacation
and are staying in a motel or in a condominium we still spread out our
things in a way to make it seem more like home. We want to have “our
stuff” available to make it seem like home.
I can understand why King David thought it necessary to make
a home for God. When the people were wandering in the desert the
meeting tent was the home for God. But now that the people were settled
in Israel and had their comfortable homes it didn’t seem right that God’s
house was still a tent, still temporary. So, David decides to build
a temple for God. Nathan the prophet believes that would be a good
thing and tells David to go ahead with his plans.
God has another plan. He tells Nathan that David should
not build a temple. Instead, God desires to have a home within the
homes of His people. God will build a temple for David and then dwell
with him. Our desire for a comfortable place and for something permanent
isn’t what God wants or needs. He wants to be with his people wherever
they
are. If people begin to believe that God can only be found in the
temple they will think God has become distant and separate from them.
David doesn’t build a temple. His son, Solomon, would
build it. Just as the prophet had proclaimed to David, once the temple
was built there was a noticeable distance between God and His people.
Now the priesthood was established to enter into the sanctuary. The
people would entrust their sacrifices and offerings to the priests.
The priests determined who could offer sacrifice and what was acceptable.
Likewise, people who lived far from Jerusalem could not go to the temple
often. They realized they had a distance from God due to where they
lived. Then, when the nation of Israel was split in two the distance
was even greater.
God did not live exclusively in Jerusalem or in the temple.
But, the people only could imagine that God would live in His home.
Much like you and I, we feel most comfortable when we are at home, so too
God must feel most comfortable in the temple in Jerusalem.
When the people were sent off into exile they really thought
that God had abandoned them. It took the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Isaiah to let them know that God was with them even in Assyria and
Babylon. Yet, they wondered how that could be. God lived in
Jerusalem.
We as a people celebrate that God has come to dwell with His
people forever in Jesus Christ. There is no longer any distance between
God and us. Heaven and earth are united forever in an unbreakable
bond through Jesus. The whole world paused in eager expectation when
the Angel Gabriel came to the Virgin of Nazareth. He announced to
Mary that God had a plan to reunite all people to Himself and that Mary
would be the agent to bring that unity. Would she agree? Her
yes heralded a new beginning. Her willingness to commit to the power
of God changed humanity.
All of us know of Mary’s yes. We know that God dwells
with His people in Jesus. Our Church celebrates the intimate union
between God and us at each Mass. There the elements of earth are
made holy. The Holy Spirit transforms bread and wine into the Body
and Blood of Christ. Just as surely as the Holy Spirit could bring
forth the Body of Christ in the womb of Mary, so too on every altar and
in every heart Christ comes to dwell. That is the awesome mystery
of Christmas. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit. We now
are the dwelling place of God. But do we believe it?
My fear is that so many people live in loneliness and bitterness.
Too many people do not believe that God dwells with them. They don’t
know it or hear it from us. We are the ones to bring that message
to them. As we heard this past week, it is Christ who heals all loneliness,
fear, and a bad self-image. For if Christ lives within us we are
precious indeed. Now is the time to make the home of Christ a fitting
place. Now is the time to recognize God’s presence in everyone we
meet. Amen
This is one of those years that Christmas doesn’t get a lot
of notice. Most people are more concerned or more interested in what
will occur a week from now. New Year’s Day will either confirm the
fears of those who have predicted chaos or it will be a big disappointment.
Most of us are at least a bit concerned about whether the things we own
will work properly after the calendar changes. Retailers naturally
wanted a big Christmas. This is the most important time of the year
for big stores. Some merchants make one third of their profit for
the year in the month before Christmas. Yet, even there, they are
concerned about whether their shops will function. Will the cash
registers work? They wonder if they will be able to pay their employees
or use their credit card checking devices on January first.
For us who are Christians this can seem very disappointing.
We begin the Jubilee Year. We herald the birth of the savior.
We proclaim Good News from God to all creation. The very reason the
calendar will even matter is because it is counted time from the birth
of Christ. So, how is it that so little time or emotion seems to
get placed on Christ?
I suppose it is disappointing to think that many people will
go through this day with only a passing glance at the reason for the holiday.
Equally disappointing will be the many people who will discard their Christmas
trees and take down their lights next week. But I suppose in another
way, all of this is very much in harmony with the first Christmas.
When Jesus was born there wasn’t a lot of notice given to
it. In fact, beyond the families of Mary and Joseph I would guess
that no one noticed. According to the scriptures, Mary had her child
not in the comfort of her home or with the support of her relatives to
help her. Instead, the event took place in a cave or stable.
She would have to go through this delivery without the normal support that
should have been given.
The civil and religious leaders of that day would not have
known about this birth either. As we will hear in our readings on
Epiphany, Herod who lived only a few miles away in Jerusalem didn’t have
any idea that a king was to be born in his land. People went about
their business more worried about whether they could make some money on
all the travelers that were going back to their ancestral homes to register
for the census.
Jesus would grow up in almost complete obscurity until he
reached the age of thirty. Then he would begin his ministry of preaching
and healing. He would call disciples to help him. These men
were not the influential people of Jerusalem, but fishermen and tax collectors.
When Jesus died, he was condemned as a criminal and was mourned by his
mother and some other women. Who would of thought anything more of
this person born so long ago?
Even the way in which Jesus preferred to be remembered seems
insignificant. He chose bread and wine in the context of a meal.
He took these simple elements and forever transformed them. He told
his disciples that when they shared this meal he would be present.
Every time we celebrate Eucharist Christ is present in the same simple
food. In a few minutes we will take bread and wine. We will
pray the words that Christ gave us and we know that He will be with us.
The mystery of Christmas 2000 years ago or the mystery of
Christmas today is the same. Many will never notice that Christ has
come into the world. Many will be about their business and be oblivious
to the miracle that God chose to live among us.
We too could choose to have a wonderful time today with our
family and friends. We could have a great meal, exchange gifts, and
Monday go back to our lives not changed a bit. Christ has come into
the world not just to give us a day off work. He came to bring us
joy and eternal life. This is Good News. Let the world know
it. Shout it from the mountaintops. The way the world ever
heard about what occurred in Bethlehem is that believers told them of it.
They heard the Good News through the apostles and those that followed after
them. We now are the believers to share our hope with the waiting
world. In this year of Jubilee let everyone know that we are joyful
because God has visited His people. Amen.
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol about a hundred years
ago. Most of us have seen this story or some version of it during
the holidays. In that story Ebenezer Scrooge is faced with his life.
He is shown that he will soon be sent to hell if he doesn’t change.
In the series of past, present, and future Christmases he is shown that
the love of family is far more important than the wealth and privilege
that his business provided him.
Scrooge believes that he is content in his self-induced hermitage.
He doesn’t like people bothering him. He finds most people an annoyance.
He also can’t understand why there is a need to take off from work to celebrate
a silly holiday like Christmas. Scrooge can’t imagine what the value
of that could be. He will soon find out.
In the journeys the ghosts take him, he sees that at one time
there was a love in his life, but when that is lost, he seeks solace in
money and possessions. Later, he learns that his employee, Bob Crachit
is a happy man not because he has lots of money, a steady job, or the possibility
of wealth. Instead, he has the love and respect of his family and
the closeness that is shared by people who love one another. Despite
his son’s illness, despite his poverty, despite his demanding boss, Crachit
knows there is more to life. He has discovered the secret of life
has to do with kindness, compassion, and love. That is something
Scrooge had forgotten.
Later in the journey he expects to find that many people will
be sad at his passing and think of him as a noble man who offered jobs
to many and helped the local economy. Instead he discovers that all
are cheering on his grave that finally he is dead and they can be free
of their indebtedness to him. This is a terrible shock.
Luckily for him, his life is not over. He has a chance
to make a difference. He can begin to live a new way based on the knowledge
he has found. One can only guess whether he changed for good and
would become a loving and generous man. The story closes with that
hope.
You and I have been given a vision of what life can look like.
We have the Holy Family as models of love and grace. We see in our
scriptures what human life should look like. We can see that if we
take on the mind of Christ and have his word dwell in our hearts we will
respond with generous love to those around us. We are reminded that
what makes life meaningful is service for and to others. Anna and
Simeon stand as examples of faith. Despite their age or their lack
of standing in society they remain faithful to God. They become the
first disciples. They have been given a promise from God that they
will see salvation for their people. When Jesus is brought to the
temple they know that God has been faithful to their promise. It
would have been easy to give up. They were old people. It would
have been just as likely that they could have seen the world around them
and decided God didn’t follow through on His promises. They didn’t
do that. They knew that God was alive and that He cares deeply for
His people.
Our lives may not look like the vision of Jesus, Mary, and
Joseph. We may think that the sins and fractures we see within our
families and around us give us no reason to hope. It might seem that
God doesn’t care or is distant from his people. We could easily become
like Ebenezer Scrooge and give up on life and love.
Yet, the power of Christ is stronger than any sins and weaknesses
that we experience. Christ’s peace can overcome indifference, malice,
and bitterness. Where we might be inclined to seek harm to another
we now seek mercy and patience.
When you look at your families and try to see that which is
good about them, what do you see? I would suspect that it could have
been a time when your spouse saw goodness in you even when you couldn’t
see it. It might have been when you stuck together in difficult economic
times or maybe when one of your family was caught up with addiction and
you didn’t give up. It was during these times and others like them
that you saw what is really valuable and important. You don’t need
to take a trip with ghosts to see that which is valuable in life.
We have the power of the Word. We have the example of Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph. We have the faithful witness of Anna and Simeon.
We have the love and compassion of members of our own community gathered
here today as living signs.
No matter what your station in life you are called to be a
faithful witness. If you are a senior citizen you can provide help
and guidance to younger families. If you are a teen or a child, your
energy and excitement can be a sign of hope to someone who is grieving
or alone. Healthy families can reach out to engaged couples showing
them a vision of what could be as opposed to what is seen in society.
Today is our feast. We are the holy families of God bringing hope
to our world.
